Energy security, AI, value chains and geopolitics

When: Tuesday 06 October 2026 | 11:30 - 12:30

Format: Breakout session

Hosted by: adelphi global 

A new geopolitical race is ongoing, not just for Artificial Intelligence (AI) dominance, but for the energy and infrastructure that powers it. Data centres are proliferating, projected to drive a massive surge in demand for energy and minerals. All this is seen as an unstoppable force. Yet the rest of the world, particularly less developed but resource-rich and energy-exporting countries, have almost no seat at the table. Here, AI's knock-on effects risk slowing down the energy transition and reproducing familiar patterns of extraction. The session thus asks whether the physical infrastructure of the AI economy is being built in ways that make just energy transitions structurally harder for resource-rich and energy-exporting countries, and whether there is still time to change that. To explore this, the session uses a value chain lens throughout, looking into both the energy supply and the resources needed to sustain AI infrastructure. 

Speakers:

• Lucy Czachowski, Head of AI and Cloud Policy - Resilience and Infrastructure, Bitkom e.V. 
• Ali Nasrallah, Independent Consultant, International Labour Organization (ILO)

Moderated by Lauren Risi, Senior Fellow & Director, Stimson Center

Return to the BCSC 2026 Agenda.